† AN EXCEPTIONALLY LARGE (45 CM) MOTTLED GREEN JADE DISK, BI, QIJIA CULTURE

拍品描述

† AN EXCEPTIONALLY LARGE (45 CM) MOTTLED GREEN JADE DISK, BI, QIJIA CULTURE Expert authentication: 1. Dr. Gu Fang has examined the present lot and guarantees its authenticity and the dating above. He assessed it as a piece of notably good quality. A copy of Dr. Gu's signed and notarized expertise, dated 1 March 2007, accompanies this lot. Dr. Gu Fang (born 1962) is an internationally renowned scholar of Chinese art and a leading authority on jades. He graduated from the Department of Archaeology at the prestigious Beijing University in 1986 and later studied at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), where he now serves as a Senior Fellow specializing in archaeological excavations and Chinese jade research. A former visiting scholar at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, he has authored several books on Chinese jades, including the 15-volume The Complete Collection of Jades Unearthed in China (2007), one of the most comprehensive studies of its kind, as well as Chinese Jade: The Spiritual and Cultural Significance of Jade in China (2012). 2. Sam Myers has examined the present lot and confirms its authenticity, dating it to the Liangzhu culture. He appraised it at a value of USD 45,000 (or approx. EUR 52,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing). A copy of the valuation from Myrna Myers Arts d’Extrême Orient, Paris, written and signed by Sam Myers, dated 5 May 2017, accompanies this lot. Sam Myers is a scholar and expert of Chinese jades and works of art with over 50 years of experience. In 1976, his wife Myrna Myers opened a gallery in Paris specializing in Asian art, and together the couple built an extraordinary art collection, including one of the world’s most distinguished jade collections, published in numerous catalogs and seen around the world in a number of important museum exhibitions. China, circa 2000 BC. Of circular form, with central aperture drilled from one side only. The magnificently polished, translucent stone of variegated tones of pale celadon and turquoise green, enlivened by whitish cloud-like inclusions, subtle brown mottling, and areas of darker shading. Dimensions: Diameter 45.2 cm With an associated metal stand. (2) Large bi disks like the current example are rare, with even the largest comparable disks recorded in private and public collections seldomly exceeding 30 cm and most ranging between 10 and 20 cm. The present disk belongs to the Qijia Culture of Gansu, as indicated by its undecorated surface, the quality of the stone, and the proportionally small central aperture. Before the 1980s, the Qijia culture was virtually unknown to scholars. No excavation reports or related archaeological data existed to account for this culture. Only recently, with the 2005 publication of the 15 volume study, The Complete Set of Unearthed Chinese Jades, edited by Gu Fang, was this culture brought to the attention of scholars. By the time the Qijia people carved this disk, jade had already been exploited by various Neolithic cultures for several millennia, including the closely related plain ritual disks associated with the Liangzhu culture of the Yangtze River Delta (late 4th to late 3rd millennium BC). The Qijia jade bi and cong are generally of larger size than those of the Liangzhu and they more consistently display a lack of any decoration, which contributes to the sense that these jade artifacts were important for symbolic and ritual purposes. Literature comparison: Compare a related jade bi disk, 38-39 cm diameter, attributed to the Longshan-Qijia System, in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, object number 中玉000634N000000000. Compare a related Liangzhu jade bi, 34.2 cm diameter, formerly in the collection of Sir Joseph Hotung and now in the British Museum, registration number 2022,3034.246. Compare a related Liangzhu jade bi disk, 32 cm diameter, in the Cleveland Museum of Art, accession number 1917.974. Compare a related smaller Liangzhu jade bi, 24.7 cm diameter, in the Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution, accession number F1917.345. Auction result comparison: Type: Related Auction: Christie’s New York, 18 March 2009, lot 277 Price: USD 194,500 or approx. EUR 250,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing Expert remark: Compare the closely related form, manner of carving, and stone. Note the smaller size (34.1 cm). Auction result comparison: Type: Closely related Auction: Bonhams Hong Kong, 30 November 2022, lot 3 Price: HKD 1,326,000 or approx. EUR 156,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing Expert remark: Compare the closely related form, manner of carving, and stone. Note the smaller size (33.5 cm). 13% VAT will be added to the hammer price additional to the buyer's premium - only for buyers within the EU.

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